There’s a Board for That!

Do you have a desire to be part of something bigger than yourself? Do you want to live in a vibrant community that meets your needs and the needs of your family? Did you know that there are all kinds of opportunities here in Chattanooga to be part of the solution?

The City of Chattanooga has dozens of boards of interest that YOU can serve on. Are you interested in air pollution control? There’s a board for that. Are you interested in the welfare of animals? There’s a board for that. Are you interested in improving the accessibility of community services and spaces for those with disabilities? There’s a board for that. How about the Library, health education, multicultural affairs or youth and family development? There’s a board for those, too!

Please follow this link to explore your interests and how you might serve: http://chattanooga.granicus.com/boards/w/0c1702956935de32/vacancies

You may apply on-line OR, if you’d like a more personal and direct application, you may send your resume and a letter of interest to Carol Berz, Chairperson of the Chattanooga City Council, at cberz@chattanooga.gov.

Chicken Ordinance Vote-It Affects Us All

An issue long brewing in the city will be coming up for a vote next week and it is one we all should be aware of.  On July 2nd, the City Council will be voting on whether to allow chickens inside city limits. This has been in the works, have had many revisions and is expected to pass in some form.

  I have been watching and looking forward to the prospect of chickens, even thinking how I would enjoy having a few myself.  The idea of urban farming is strong within and is something I feel the city should support and allow, within guidelines.  So I will confess, I have strongly been supporting the chicken ordinance. Many of the arguments against the chickens have been settled to my satisfaction and my support has continued unabated.

  But leave it to Pam Ladd for thought out reasoning on an issue..  In the letter below she makes a very good argument that I had not considered against chickens.  I have been doing more research on my own and have found plenty to support Ms. Ladd’s concerns.  If nothing else, her concerns convinced me that the issue of keeping chickens is more far reaching than how it  affects a few individuals with visions of fresh eggs dancing in their heads. Allowing chickens in the city will set forth consequences that will affect the whole community. How serious are those consequences?  Are they worth the benefits of the ability of keeping chickens?

  I encourage all of us to give this issue great thought and contact our city council member to express your opinion. For myself, I will be giving this topic much more thought and research in the coming week to come to my stance  .link to city council

From: “pam ladd” <pam.j.ladd@gmail.com>

Sent: Wednesday, June 26, 2013 1:18:17 AM

Subject: City Ordinance to allow chickens in yards

Next Tuesday, July 2, the City Council will vote on an ordinance that will allow your neighbors to have up to 8 chickens in their yards.  Because this is an ordinance it must have two votes.  So, July 2 is the first vote and July 9 will be the second and deciding vote on this legislation for our City.

This is a critical ordinance.  It sounds wonderful that our City residents would be able to have the joy of raising chickens and expose this experience to children.  It would be wonderful to walk out into your yard and gather your own organic eggs for breakfast.  This is where the glamor ends.

Most of our city is surrounded by rural undeveloped land that has wildlife habitation.  Chickens and the eggs they produce will become a food source for such wildlife.  The draw for coyotes, foxes, raccoons, and rats to come into your neighborhood increases dramatically with this additional food source.  Local animal control will not respond to a call to eradicate wildlife from your property.  It is very expensive to pay for wildlife animal control.  This is not encouraging safe neighborhoods as most of the new City Council promised they would deliver to you if elected.

McKamey Animal shelter will be forced to use your tax dollars to build coups to house chickens that families cannot sustain.  McKamey is already heavily burdened carrying out City ordinances regarding domestic animals.  More tax dollars will be needed to cover this new ordinance.  At best all McKamey can do is respond to your calls regarding the chickens.  McKamey cannot do anything to help with the additional draw of wildlife to your neighborhood.

Contact your City Council representative now and request that they vote no on the ordinance to allow chickens in the City.  If you do not speak out, this ordinance will pass.  Please pass this information along to your neighborhood associations.  Plan to attend the City Council meeting on July 2 and 9 to speak in public to your representative and request a vote against this ordinance.  Thank you for your consideration.

Respectfully,

Pam Ladd

Pam Ladd’s Lessons Learned

After losing the City Council race, incumbent and Council chair Pam Ladd shares 3 significant insights about running for office:

(1)    “You need a structured and highly committed team in place for a successful campaign.  A critical factor is a dedicated campaign manager who is extremely organized and a great communicator.  If you don’t, you need to seriously ask yourself if you need to move forward.”

(2)    Cast out your assumptions that you will get the vote of your friends, acquaintances, colleagues, and people with whom you have built a working relationship.  “I was truly shocked to learn that people I was close to were supporting my opponent.”  Ask for EVERY vote.

(3)    Consider in advance how you will deal with negative attacks.  “I couldn’t get ahead of the lies and character assassination.  Not so much by the opponent, but by the independent political party that chose to back him in an effort to unseat me.  It became a well-orchestrated smear campaign and I didn’t know how to get my message out in a positive way without adding life to the lies.”  Know the opposition and the power structure behind them.

On the positive side for those who may be considering a future in local politics, it is becoming easier to run against an incumbent because their behavior is dictated by the confines of political office and their voting record is on display.  A citizen can deliver their message with no restrictions.  She encourages people to volunteer for a political campaign to learn the basics before running for office.

Women Candidates in City Council Races

At present there are nine (9) City Council members and four are women: Carol Berz, Pam Ladd, Sally Robinson, and Deborah Scott. Sally and Deborah are not running again.  Carol Berz is running unopposed for District 6.  Pam Ladd is hoping to retain her seat in District 3.  In District 2, Priscilla Simmons is competing against two men for Sally Robinson’s seat.  For those who did not make it to the CWLI Candidate Forum, here is a brief summary of Pam and Priscilla’s platforms.

Pam Ladd – Better relationships and communication between three branches of local gov’t. Combine current departments to eliminate costs. Control top administrator salaries as comparable to private sector. City employee training and job accountability. Long term strategy for fire/police pension fund. Continue to implement water quality programs for EPA mandates. Upgrades at Hixson Community Center. Hixson road projects. Smooth transition for new annexed residents. Consolidation of services between City and County.

Priscilla Simmons – Retain progress and move forward. Economic development for jobs and bringing in new residents. City government that is efficient, responsive, and cost effective . Expansion of the downtown beyond the Southside. Will address adequate infrastructure, educated workforce, government cooperation, beautiful landscape, safe community, and dining/entertainment/recreational venues, for economic development. (She is a retired city worker, managed the Finance department.)

Regardless of who you support, please exercise your right to vote! Early voting starts Wednesday, February 13^th.  Election Day is March 5^th.

Updates from the City Council Liaison Team

The liaison team charged with keeping us informed on the activities of the Chattanooga City Council has been working to better understand the process and protocols on this local government body. In the past weeks, the team has learned that in-depth conversation on voting topics generally occur in committee, while the final decisions are made at City Council meetings. Therefore, to gain in insight on a specific city issue, like a zoning ordinance in a neighborhood, citizens should start with the appropriate committee. Our team was pleased to find that City Council members very willing to meet individually and give their perspective on the issues of the day. In addition to topics relative to your own district, the council members each chair one of the committees (see link). These meetings are open to the public and the minutes from each meeting are available online. Committees meet on Tuesday afternoons and City Council meets Tuesday evenings at 6pm.

http://www.chattanooga.gov/city-council/committees